Hard (The Bear Chronicles of Willow Creek #2) (7 page)

Realizing he’s right, I blow out a breath and attempt to compose myself and figure a way out of this mess. Leaning against the hood of the car, I grip my hair in my hands and focus on breathing in and out as I try to come up with a plan of action.

Leaving Liza isn’t an option I can deal with. That being said, I’m pretty sure that only leaves me with one other option, and I’m pretty sure it’s not going to go over well.

Just as I’m about to stand up and respond to Ethan, the door to the house opens and Liza walks out onto the porch. Her long hair is blowing in the wind as she stands there watching me. Immediately, I’m consumed with the need to run my fingers through those caramel-colored locks and slam my mouth against hers.

Stalking toward her, I ignore Ethan’s protests that we aren’t done talking and march up the steps stopping in front of her. Threading my fingers through her silky tresses, I give a gentle tug and tip her head back. She looks up at me with eyes so filled with desire, my cock is instantly hard and aching to be inside of her.

Leaning forward, I sweep my tongue against her bottom lip before pulling it into my mouth and biting down on the tender flesh. As soon as my teeth clamp down, her eyes glaze over with lust.

Sucking her bottom lip into my mouth, I nibble at it for a moment as I continue to gaze into her eyes. As soon as she begins to lose focus, I release her lip with a pop and begin to place tender kisses against her swollen mouth.

Releasing a breathy sigh, she looks up at me and smiles. “How the hell do you do that?”

“Do what?” I ask.

“Consume me… mind, body, and soul? I’ve never met anyone who has captivated me like you do. It literally takes my breath away. The thought of you leaving here is actually making me kind of anxious.”

Pulling her to me, I wrap my arms around her waist and stroke her back in a soothing gesture. I can only imagine how overwhelmed she is with everything, and although my need to keep her close to me is strong, my need to protect her will always be stronger.

Resting my chin on top of her head, I say, “I feel the same way, Angel. I don’t want to leave you, either. You make me feel the exact same way, so I get it. I’ve never understood it until now. I’ve listened to people talk about this instant draw my whole life and never imagined it would be like this.”

Giving me a squeeze, she nestles into my chest and says, “Was everything all right out here? I glanced out the window, and things looked a little tense.”

Continuing to rub her back, I tell her, “Yeah, everything’s good. Ethan and I were just having a difference of opinions.”

At that exact moment, Ethan walks up onto the porch and stops when he’s beside us. “Ha, you could say that again. This fucker was ready to kick my ass because I told him he couldn’t run off into the sunset with you.”

Releasing a giggle, she looks up at me and asks, “Really? Is that seriously what you two were arguing about?”

Looking down at her, I give my shoulders a slight shrug but don’t bother to respond for fear I’ll freak her out with my honesty.

Not catching on to the point behind my silence, Ethan continues, “Oh yeah. He was ready to bust my skull against the bumper if I didn’t let him have his way with you.”

Snapping my head in his direction, I give a low growl of warning and shake my head. Laughing at me, he begins to walk toward the door, no longer willing to risk opening his big mouth.

Just as he’s about to walk into the house, a thought comes to me and I can’t help the evil grin that appears on my face. “Nah, it’s all good now, love. Ethan here was nice enough to offer that I move in here for a while until you get all settled in and have some time with your sister.”

Immediately, Ethan’s head swings in my direction, a scowl crossing his face. Smiling back at him, I wait for Liza’s reaction to me moving in.

Pulling from my arms, she turns to Ethan and asks, “Really, Ethan? You would let Eli move in here for me?”

Grumbling some obscenities under his breath, Ethan turns and attempts to throw a smile in Liza’s direction. “Of course I would. I know it would make you happy, and if you’re happy, Amelia’s happy.”

Smiling up at me, Liza reaches down and threads her fingers through mine. “Guess I don’t have to worry about being lonely while Ethan and Amelia are having time alone together.”

Placing a kiss upon the top of her head, I look up and wink at Ethan. “Nope, you don’t have to worry about that, Angel. I’ll be here for as long as you need me to be.”

Chapter Ten

Liza

PLACING THE second pan of lasagna on the table, I call out for the guys. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Next time, get your plate before you call them to the table. If not, you won’t get to eat.” Amelia sets the garlic bread on the table, just as Eli and Ethan join us.

I watch as the men grab their plates and demolish an entire pan of lasagna before I even get a single piece on my plate. When my shocked eyes move to Amelia, she simply shrugs and says, “Told you so.”

“This is good, darlin’.” Ethan says between bites. 

My sister grabs a piece of garlic bread before responding. “I made desert. Liza cooked dinner.”

Eli takes a break from eating and looks at me. “You made this?”

The shocked look on his face makes me proud, but it also kinda pisses me off. “I can cook. I learned from the best.”

“Thank you,” Amelia pipes in, smiling at me. 

I just can’t stop myself from teasing her. “I was talking about Bess. She taught me a lot after I took over your spot at the bakery.”

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes and shoves another bite in her mouth. 

As I eat, I look around the table at the people who are now my family and smile. When my parents died, I wasn’t sure if Amelia and I would ever have a family again. Now, we both have men to call our own, and Amelia has a baby on the way.

I know Eli and I just started seeing each other a week or so ago, but it literally feels like it’s been years. I never thought we could be this happy again, and there are still times that I worry everything will come crashing down around me. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I’m almost one-hundred percent positive that Eli is hiding something from me. I realize we don’t know everything about each other yet; in fact, we are far from knowing everything about each other. However, my gut tells me that whatever it is he’s hiding is something big.  

Eli stares at me before grabbing another piece of lasagna. “What has you smiling, Angel?”

A part of me is afraid to tell him how happy I am, afraid it will break this spell we are under and something crazy will happen. Still, my smile grows and I say, “I’m just happy to be here.”

He opens his mouth to reply, but the front door banging against the wall grabs his attention. Everyone at the table turns to watch as an angry man storms into the room. He has dark hair that obviously hasn’t been brushed in days. His face is covered in whiskers, and not the sexy kind either. It’s as if he just decided not to waste time on shaving anymore. What draws my attention most are his eyes. They are so dark they’re nearly black, and even from across the room I can see the anger in them. It’s pure hatred and it’s directed right at me. 

The room is utterly silent as everyone stares at the stranger. His nostrils flare before he turns to look at Eli. “Why didn’t you come home?”

Instantly, everything clicks. This man is Eli’s dad, and it’s more than obvious that he absolutely hates me for some reason. “Uhmm,” I mumble out, but Amelia grabs my hand and shakes her head. 

“Dad, I was gonna call you,” my man says as he pushes away from the table and stands up. “We haven’t been home for long, and I stayed around here to help Eli with some stuff.”

Eli’s father comes a step closer and shouts, “The point of my visit is that you still aren’t home. Instead, you’re here with your human loving cousin.”

His words leave me confused, so I lean into my sister and whisper, “What’s going on? What does he mean by human?”

“Just keep an open mind,” she whispers back, giving my hand another squeeze.

Walking around the table, Eli blocks my view of his dad. “Let’s go outside and talk about this.”

“No,” the man shouts, shaking his head back and forth. “I want you to explain why you are here.”

Ethan stands up, joining Eli, “Jackson, I think we need a little privacy. Don’t you?”

“You’ve already ruined Willow Creek, bringing outsiders into our midst. I will not allow you to ruin my only son,” Eli’s father says, taking the few steps that separate him from his son. “Eli is coming home with me, and he’s coming right fucking now.”

As I watch his father pull him forward, I cringe. The man I met seemed so strong, like the alpha men I love to read about. He seemed so protective, so strong, and so unbelievably sexy. Now, he is letting his father pull him out of the house like a naughty little boy. How could I have been so wrong? Watching this play out in front of me leaves me feeling like something is majorly off.

Eli only takes a few steps before he jerks away from his father. “I’m not leaving.”

“Yes, you are,” his father growls out—like literally growls like a damn animal. 

“I’m a grown man, have been for a long damn time,” Eli tells him with a shake of his head. “I’m not gonna let you run my life anymore. I’m staying here with Ethan and the girls, and that’s final.”

His father seems stunned for a moment, just staring at him. Finally, he turns to look at Ethan. “You did this. You ruined him. You brought outsiders here, married a dirty human, and now you have destroyed my son.”

There he goes again: outsiders, humans. What the hell is he talking about? Before I can ask, Ethan lets out a growl of his own. “Never talk about my mate like that again. If you do, I’ll forget you’re my uncle and tear your fucking head off.”

 “Do it. You took everything I valued away from me: my town, my son. What do I have to live for anymore?”

“Dad,” Eli grounds out, grabbing his father’s arm. “You have to let the past go. We have to move forward.”

His father jerks away, tossing back his head and letting out a deafening roar. “I’ll never forget.”

Suddenly, the air changes. It’s heavy, sticking to my skin. The air on my arms stands up as a wave of electrical energy hits me, just as Eli looks back and shouts, “Get out of here now.”

“Upstairs, Amelia,” Ethan growls out at the same time, taking a protective stance in front of the table. 

My sister grabs my arms, pulling me toward the stairs. I follow willingly, not wanting to hear anymore of Eli’s Dad’s idiotic rambling. Before we reach the stairs, I hear an ear splitting roar and can’t stop myself from looking back. What I see nearly brings me to my knees. 

Three bears stand beside the table in the exact spot that Ethan, Eli, and his father stood just seconds before, clothing scattered all around them. “What the fuck?” I whisper out.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, I can’t help but stare at the scene in front of me in both shock and awe. Now, I’m sure there’s a bit of horror mixed in somewhere in there as well, but I’m so completely caught off guard that the fear has yet to catch up to me.

I feel a tugging on my arm and turn to see Amelia with a look of utter horror across her face. Swinging her eyes toward me, she continues to pull on me and says, “Liza, what are you doing? Get the hell up the stairs.”

Continuing to ignore her, I focus on the massive gorgeous animals facing off in the kitchen. This entire situation should have me freaking out and having a full on hysterical fit, yet for some reason, the sight of the bears is something that gives me a feeling of calm rather than fear and panic.

Just as I’m about to tell Amelia how magnificent I think they are, one of the bear lets out an ear-splitting roar and charges toward the one to its right.

He’s barely taken steps before the bear to the left lunges in front of the other bear in a protective stance and bares its teeth, a low rumble working its way out of its chest. The aggressor of the group backs down for only a second before he starts pacing and circling the other two in what looks like an attempt to find a weakness in their guard.

“Seriously, Liza, we need to go. Now!” my sister shouts, attempting to get my attention. 

Suddenly, the bear standing guard swings his massive paw and connects with the one attempting to circle and attack. The hit is so hard, I’m positive I can hear the crack of bone as the paw connects with the other bear’s skull. Regardless of how hard the hit appears, the other bear gets right back on its feet and lunges for the one who had just swung at him.

They are moving so fast throughout the kitchen that I can barely keep up with their movements, and am left completely unable to tell which bear is which. Between their massive bodies and the furniture crashing and flying throughout the room, everything appears to be a blur.

Suddenly, the movements stop and the most horrifying sound hits my ears as the one bear sinks his massive teeth into the other bear’s shoulders. The sound is so terrifying that I am left standing completely frozen, unable to do anything but open my mouth and scream at the top of my lungs.

Continuing to stand there and scream like a crazy person, it takes me a second to realize that the bear that just stopped to make lunch out of his opponent is now looking directly at me.